


At least Death Matches are rare

by WhyYesIamBlonde



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Collars, Deaf Clint Barton, Fight or Die, Fights, Huddling For Warmth, No Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3317993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyYesIamBlonde/pseuds/WhyYesIamBlonde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve narrowed his eyes. One of the mercenaries unlocked and opened the cage. He used his gun to motion the super soldier to get out. Steve walked out slowly. The one gun was placed against his temple while the other guns stayed on Clint.</p>
<p>“You will follow me to the arena,” The lady said. “You will fight. If you lose you will die. If you win you will kill. If you rebel he will die.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	At least Death Matches are rare

The collar was tight around his neck. Steve had already tried to snap it off but it was too thick. He was locked in the same cage as Clint who was adorned with a similar collar. Their clothes were taken but shorts had been supplied so at least they weren’t completely naked. The room was cold though so the two found themselves standing with their arms around each other to try to keep Clint from shivering. 

“You know where we are, don’t you?” Steve asked as he looked at his nervous friend.

“Yeah. No where good. It’s...” Clint was interrupted by a soft soprano.

“Aw, look at the little lovebirds,” a lady walked into the room. She was surrounded by mercenaries wearing old army uniforms who split up and took different positions around the room. The lady was wearing a black suit which emphasized her pale skin and hair. Her pink eyes narrowed in on the captives behind her thick glasses.

Steve and Clint let go of each other and moved to different ends of the cage. The various guns in the room stayed trained on Clint. The two blondes looked at each when they realized this.

“So,” Steve spoke first. “What exactly do you want from us?”

“To the point now aren’t we?” giggled the lady. “It’s quite simple, Captain. You're going to fight and you are going to win.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. One of the mercenaries unlocked and opened the cage. He used his gun to motion the super soldier to get out. Steve walked out slowly. The one gun was placed against his temple while the other guns stayed on Clint.

“You will follow me to the arena,” The lady said. “You will fight. If you lose you will die. If you win you will kill. If you rebel he will die.” 

“What the Fuck!” Clint yelled as Steve refused to move.

“You need to understand,” said the albino woman. “you belong to me now. I tell you to fight, you fight. It is a death match tonight. If you win and live another day, I make money. If you lose, I lose money. Hawkeye will find out how much I hate to lose money. Simple as that. Now come on.”

The guard pressed the barrel of his gun into Steve’s head until he started to walk. The soldier went down the hallway until they came to a rather large stone door. It was swung open by two men and he was pushed inside. The door was quickly closed and he could hear the lock being engaged behind him. 

Steve looked around. He was in an arena. The walls were stone but fit together so that no handholds could be seen. About ten feet up were glass viewing areas like those seen in an operating room. The door across from him was opened and someone was shoved inside before it too was quickly closed and locked.

The soldier just stood there and looked at his opponent. The man looked strong. His body had scars and the break of his nose was set wrong so it tilted toward the left. He growled at Steve causing those watching above to shout and make their bets.

Steve continued to just stand there. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“No choice,” came the reply as the man lunged for the super soldier. Steve just jumped out of the way. He jumped again and again. The other man was getting winded but still hadn’t made contact.

A voice could be heard over the loudspeaker, “Enough!”

Steve’s collar lit up. His entire body jerked with the shocks. It only lasted for a few seconds but it was enough for the other man to get close. When the electricity stopped, the man grabbed Steve and slammed his head into the stone floor. Steve put his hands down and did a push up lifting both of their weights as he flipped over, grabbing the man’s head and forcing him to twist. The opponent’s body slammed into the wall. 

The other man growled as he turned and swung at the captain. Steve was already down and swinging his legs tripping the man. The super soldier grabbed the other’s head and it was his turn to be slammed into the stone. He did it a few times before realizing that the other man had passed out. Steve dropped him and wiped his hands on the other man's shorts. 

“It’s done. Let me out,” Steve yelled.

“To the death, Captain,” a voice was heard as another shock ran through the collar.

“No,” Steve let out roughly as the shock occurred again and again. 

Eventually the other man regained consciousness. He stood up, swaying a little bit. He shook his head to clear it before letting out a scream and lunging for the captain. Steve was still twitching from his latest shock when his torso was grabbed and he was shoved into the wall, his head hitting the stones. He saw stars as his training kicked in and he grabbed the man’s neck, twisting it. The body went lax as the super soldier let it fall to the ground. The crowd above erupted with applause.

Steve set his jaw, refusing to show emotion and repeated, “It’s done. Let me out.”

This time the doors opened. Three men with guns let him back to the room. Clint grabbed the bars and watched them take his friend to a corner and hose him down with freezing water. Steve was shoved into the cage and it was locked. Steve tried to bend the bars but to no avail. 

Finally Steve turned and looked at his friend. Clint was breathing hard. His hands were fisting and unfisting themselves. Steve lifted an eye in question. Clint took a large breath and then grimaced as it caused the collar to put pressure on the electrical burns around his neck.

“Pissed them off a bit, did you?” Clint finally got out. His voice was rough and little too loud. Steve looked: yep, his hearing aids were on the floor. Clint watched his friend’s eyeline. “Oh, yeah. They aren’t much good after an electrical surge so I figured why have them in? They aren’t that comfortable anyways.”

Before he could say a word Clint held his hand up to Steve. “Don’t. Just don’t you dare feel guilty. I can handle a few zaps. They like to do this, you know. Punish both in a pair whenever one acts up. They’ll reward the same way if you want to call it a reward.”

Steve frowned. So Clint had been shocked whenever he was shocked. That changed the game. A lot. “So you've been here before,” Steve prompted loudly.

“Oh, yeah,” Clint answered looking at Steve’s lips. “Caught me during my mercenary days. They’ll keep us until one of us dies and then throw the other person into nowhere land. After years of searching I still have no idea who these fuckers are.”

“How long did they have you?” Steve said before he went back to trying to bend the bars. 

Clint went into a corner and sat down. He shivered a bit as the concrete’s cold sept through the shorts but continued with his story. “Me and Roberts weren’t even a team. We hated each other but we were paired up for a job and they assumed we were a couple. We decided to go along with the charade until we could figure a way out. Man, she was kick ass. Won fight after fight. They must have had us for three months before anyone even broke one of her arms. I had about two concussions and a twisted knee by then. They give you time to heel, you know. They had me do all the fighting until her arm was out of that cast. But it had atrophied and she wasn’t up to her full strength. The next fight took her out.” Clint looked down and gave a quick laugh, “Never did learn her first name.”

Steve had stopped while Clint was talking and found himself staring at his best friend. Finally he shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

“So,” Steve kept yelling so Clint could hear. “Is every fight to the death?”

“Naw, they couldn't keep fighters if they did that. Death matches are rare,” Clint chuckled, “Arn’t we lucky?”

Steve sat down next to Clint and put his arm around his shoulder, trying to keep him warm. “So what can I expect?”

“The fights occur weekly, sometimes twice a week. We get fed, watered and exercised. You just fought so I will be next. They will use you to make me behave. Trust me, keep them happy.” Clint got lost in a memory for a second. Steve called his name which snapped him out of it. 

“Oh, yeah. Don’t try to escape. Not really worth it,” Clint said as he rubbed his fingers down a rather large burn scar on his left leg. 

“How are we going to get out?” Steve asked. Clint just shrugged.

___

The week went along just like Clint said. They were fed twice a day. It was a thick stew loaded with vegetables and meat. The water was plain and Steve couldn't detect any chemicals beyond what was already in the tap. Once a day they were led to a room were they could lift weights, run or do anything else they wanted. Each had at least four laser dots on their bodies at all times. The guards were so nervous around them that Steve began to hope that their trigger fingers didn’t jump whenever he got too close. But he figured that having men who knew how to fight to the death under their care could rattle anyone. 

They spent their nights in the cage without blankets or other comforts. Steve would spend his free time trying to loosen one of the bars while Clint would tell Steve a bit of the history he missed during his time in the ice.

Finally the week was over. Steve was starting to get bored. He and Clint had been trading insults for the last hour when the albino lady walked in. “Ah, the love birds having a spat?”

“Fuck off, lady,” Clint said before a quick jolt reminded him to behave. Steve grunted at the pain but he realized that the woman didn’t even twitch. How did she activate the collars?

Clint was taken this time. He was put against a small asian woman. The fight was over quickly. She was good but he had learned at an early age to fight dirty and fast. This girl’s moves were more for show. He had her nose bleeding and her left leg bent at the wrong angle in under a minute. When the woman cried what he could only guess was uncle in her language the door opened and the men with the guns guided him back to his room. 

After a brisk shower Clint found himself shivering in the cage trying to dry himself off with his shorts to get rid of the worst of the cold. 

“Man,” Clint bit out through chattering teeth, “where are we, Siberia?”

Steve didn’t answer. He just hugged his naked friend allowing his super warmth to keep them both comfortable. Clint smiled before saying, “Be careful. We wouldn’t want to make Tasha jealous. You know how she gets.”

Steve smiled back and continued to hold onto Clint until the worst of the shivers disappeared, “I think she’ll understand under these circumstances.”

___

The next day came another fight. Steve was taken to the same room. The other fighter didn’t show up for a few minutes so the man had time to really look around this time. There were blood stains on the floor and walls. Someone had tried their best to wash them off but it just wasn’t happening. He would bet that the glass partition overhead was shatterproof. Especially the way the audience kept pounding on them as they yelled insults and encouragements down at the fighters. He flexed a few times to loosen his muscles which just made the female viewers scream a little louder. 

The other fighter that was shoved in looked startled to see Steve there. Oh, yeah. They had fought before. He was Hydra. Well, he had been at least. Looks like he was sold out after his failure to keep the Avengers out of their latest lair. He was a no name thug but even he didn’t deserve this. The guy looked terrified upon seeing who his opponent was.

“Um, can I just give up?” the guy squeaked as he looked for a way out. 

Steve just stood their with his arms crossed. He was not going to fight this man. Both of their collars went off for a few seconds. Then again and again. Finally the other fighter looked up and attacked. Steve side stepped and allowed the man to fly into the wall. He punched and kicked, never landing a hit. Finally the super soldier took pity on him and gave him one strong thwack to the back of his head. He grabbed the knocked out man before he hit himself a second time on the floor and laid him down gently. The crowd was laughing and pointing at the downed man. Well, those that were smart enough to bet against him. A few were screaming vulgarities and ripping up tickets. 

The usual mercenaries walked Steve back to the room. He talked them out of the shower since he hadn’t even worked up a swet. After they left Clint looked at Steve questioningly. Steve just shrugged and shook his head. 

The super soldier went back to trying to budge the bars to the cage. He was amazed as one broke. It left just enough room for the two to squeeze through and get out. Clint breathed in deep, let it out and moaned about how much getting caught was going to hurt before he followed Steve through the bars. The bolts to the doors were on the inside so it was the work of a few seconds to remove the pegs and open it. They looked both ways, the coast was clear. They used hand signals to communicate as they walked down the hall. It was natural for them and was as close to sign language as Steve knew.

They went in the direction away from the arena and found themselves in front of an emergency exit. They looked through the window to see snow and wind. Steve knew that he would be okay in the long run but there was no way that Clint would get far. They back tracked until they came to an unlocked door marked break-room. 

The two men stood on either side of the door until one of the guards left to go back to his job. They quickly subdued him and Clint put on his clothes. They left him back in their room. Looking around they were amazed that no one noticed them missing yet and walked back down the hall. They came upon another guard but it was quick work for Captain America to run up and knock him out with one punch. He probably shattered his cheek but Steve wasn't able to care.

They came upon the door to the outside again. There were six men in front of it, each pointing their gun on the two Avengers. Clint hadn’t seen any cameras but wasn’t surprised that their little escape hadn’t gone unnoticed. There was too much space for them to run to subdue the guards and the red dots all converged on Clint’s chest. Yeah, even he wasn’t fast enough to duck a bullet. They held their hands up and allowed themselves to be led back to another room. 

This room had separate cages and a table placed in between. Clint groaned when he saw it but Steve just set his chin. This was not going to be pleasant. They stripped Clint of the uniform before shoving him into the left cage while ushering Steve into the right one.

They took Steve first. They kept their guns trained on Clint as they ordered him to lay down. They handcuffed his hands together and tied them to a bolt above his head. His ankles were tied separately to the two far corners. After he was strapped to the table the albino lady showed up pushing a cart in front of her. Steve could see a few knives, pliers and other work tools along with some torture paraphernalia. He opened his mouth to make a snide remark when one of the guards grabbed his cheeks and forced him to keep his mouth open. The albino spit into his mouth before forcing in a ball gag and securing it a little bit too tightly. 

“I told you that you belong to me. I don’t like losing money. You are too good to just kill so I’m going to have a bit of fun with you before your next fight that I promise you is going to be to the death. Now let’s see how hurt you can be before you have difficulty protecting yourself? The others are clamoring for a handicap anyways.” 

The lady picked up a knife while she was talking and tested it's sharpness while she walked slowly around the table. She used the knife to cut off the shorts that Steve had been wearing. He had lost most of his body shyness while in the army so that part of the torture didn’t phase him. It was her putting the tip of the knife along his left testicle that caused him to suck in a quick breath. 

“You don’t need these to fight. Should I take them off?” She laughed as she slid the knife down cutting a shallow gash but not doing any lasting harm to the organ under the skin. She then slowly traced the knife up and down his legs. He bit into the ball but managed not to make any sounds as she continued until ten lines were drawn on each leg from groin to ankle.

“You are too good to bet against. I wonder if I can get them to bet on your opponent if you can’t stand up completely?” The knife was placed back on the cart and a pipe was picked up. She went down and started to swing the pipe at his feet. It hurt more than Steve expected it too. She didn’t stop until his soles were completely black and blue. She had even managed to break three of his toes with her onslaught.

“Do not run away again,” She whispered into his ear. “I expected this from you so I am not as angry as I will be next time.”

Steve's feet were untied. His hands were unhooked from the bolt but the handcuffs where left on his wrists. They pushed him off the table and kicked him as he crawled back into his cage. He knew that he could spin and knock the guards that were hurting him to the ground and quickly subdue them but the youngest one was left along the wall trailing his gun on Clint. He looked scared enough that Steve was beginning to wonder if he was here willingly. 

Clint they didn’t even bother taking out of the cage. He was standing there at parade rest with a glazed look in his eyes. She tsked when she realized that he had dissociated himself from his body for a while. She left with strict orders. The cart was removed from the room and all but two guards left leaving the oldest and the youngest behind. 

Steve was still checking over his wounds when one of the men returned. He was carrying a bucket of steaming water. He threw it at Clint. The water must have been boiling from the way that his skin grew red and he clenched his eyes. He still didn’t move.

___

Steve had long since stopped bleeding and the dried blood on his skin itched. He was fisting his hands trying not to scratch at the new scabs so that they would heal better but he was concentrating so much on ignoring his lower limbs that he didn’t realize that Clint had returned.

“What the fuck!” Clint said as he looked down at some of the blisters that covered his body. “Why is it always heat with them? Why couldn’t they use ice or snow for once?”

“Shut up!” the young guard yelled pointing his gun back up at the agent. 

Clint held up his hands and made a zipping mouth jester. He looked over at Steve and shook his head. The soldier was still sitting on the floor. He had tried to get up but the pain in his feet was too great right now. He still had the ball gag locked onto his head and he blushed, feeling ridiculous. 

They each got comfortable and waited. Clint placed himself into sniper mode while he just stared at the man who looked to be in his late teens. This unnerved the guard and made him fidget a bit but he never left his post. Steve just sat back and went through his idetic memory recalling every face he encountered here to see if he could remember seeing them anywhere else. Time moved slow enough but they managed not to be completely bored.

___

The guard was eventually changed out. They didn't care for much talking either. Clint had sat down on the concrete by then. His teeth chattering as he tried to fold into himself a bit. The many layers of the guard's uniforms kept them comfortable and Steve usually ran extra warm anyways but the rooms were kept just this side of freezing. 

Another guard change and then another. Clint managed to get a few fitful hours of sleep leaning back against the bars. Steve spent his time going over plans of attack but just could not come up with a way to avoid Clint getting hurt. Finally after three more guard changes five men came in and yet again pointed their guns at the two men. Steve had already felt the bruises on his feet heal to a walkable level but he figured that no one else knew how quickly the serum worked. He pretended to have trouble getting up and staying up. 

The guards opened the cage and grabbed Steve under the arms to help him along. One of the guards unlocked the ball gag and handcuffs and placed them on the table. They shoved him into a pair of shorts. The soldier continued to pretend to have difficulty all the way down to the arena. They threw him in and he fell, acting like his legs didn't want to listen to him. The betters were ecstatic. Was this the chance to win the big money? Was the great Captain America going to die tonight? Each yelled out their bets before the opponent was even brought in.

The door opened and in walked a mountain. It was a female, no mistaking that, but she was huge. Her arms could easily wrap around the smaller man in front of her and just squeeze the life out of him. Her blonde hair was cut too short to grab ahold of and her blue eyes bugged out slightly. The super soldier could smell the chemicals coming off of her. Whatever they gave her seemed to be working because she wasted no time running towards her opponent. Steve gave up on the bad feet charade and jumped out of her way.

Steve managed to evade his opponent for a while. She would run and he would side step. She would swing her meaty arms and he would duck. At one point he felt like he was in more of a limbo contest than a fight. Finally she managed to grab him.

Steve felt himself lifted into the air and flung across the room. His back hit the wall and he let out an umph as all the air left his lungs. He scrambled to stand up but she was quicker. She had jumped and landed on his back with her butt. His already empty lungs managed to lose a little bit more air and the sound of a rib or two breaking seemed to echo off of the walls. 

Captain America managed to catch his breath while his opponent grabbed his left leg and twisted. He pushed up and managed to shake her off just as his knee popped. Steve had felt more pain before in his life but between his ribs, lungs (could the one be punctured?), and knee he was having trouble suppressing it long enough for the fight. He was running on pure adrenalin. He wiped the water from his eyes and concentrated on his next move.

The female Goliath snorted as she turned and kicked the man at her feet. Steve grabbed the foot as it came at him and shoved her off balance. She tried to grab for him instead of catch her balance. She fell straight back with a crack as her head hit the stone floor. At that, the fight was over.

Steve got up and limped over to the door. He never saw one of the betters stare at him as he walked. The man in the upper window reached up and tapped into his ear three times.

___

Steve shook off the worst of the cold water and limped into his cage. He tried to smile at Clint but only managed a grimace. The guards had taken him to a doctor but there was nothing to be done but pop his knee back into place and wait for the serum to heal him.

Clint was chewing on one of the power bars they threw at them on occasion. The young guard was back. He looked more nervous than usual. The other guards teased him about being afraid of a slave behind bars. The kid just shrugged and took his position. After the other guards left just him and his older comrade, the kid took a few deep breaths. 

“Hey, son. It’s going to be fine. Those bars can hold the Hulk,” the older guard placed his hand on the younger’s shoulder.

The kid smiled and looked up at his mentor. The old man turned back to keep his gun trained on Clint. The kid’s smile turned down into a grimace as he took a smaller gun out of his jacket. There was a silencer on it so it made very little noise as the blood sprayed out behind the older guard.

“Shit! I will never get used to this,” the young man mumbled as he searched the older guard. It just took a second to find the keys and get the two Avengers out of their cages.

Clint actually hesitated a second before he ran out of the cage and asked for the plan. The younger mercenary dug a couple of ear buds out of his uniform and handed them over. A small one for Steve and two larger one’s for Clint to also work as hearing aids. Steve quickly put his in and tapped it to activate the com. “This is Captain America.”

“Thank Fuck!” Tony’s voice could be heard. “Do you know how many days we have been looking for you? You owe me over a month of spa service when we are done. I actually lost a hair over this.”

“Tony,” Hawkeye smiled at the sound of his friend. “What’s the plan?”

“You two are going to stay put for a second,” the building shook and some of the plaster fell from the walls. “Right on cue. Green Bean is making a beeline towards you. The widow is right behind him. I’m going to,” some repulsor shots could be heard in the background, “come get you just as soon as the path is clear.”

“Hey, son, got a name?” asked Steve as he relieved the dead mercenary of his uniform to give Clint something warm to wear. 

“Um... It’s James, sir. Timmy James.”

“Well, James, looks like I owe you my thanks.” Captain America held out his hand for the man to shake. He took it with wide eyes. “How did you get mixed up in all this?”

Timmy scratched at the hair on the back of his head for a second. “Family business. My dad taught my brothers and me how to fight and protect. When we fought I left and got myself into some trouble.” The younger man looked guiltily at the captain. “Never thought I’d actually be the bad guy.”

“Know the feeling,” Clint muttered.

Another quake shook the building. There was screaming and gunshots heard outside of the room. Steve picked up the fallen man’s gun while Clint relieved the young mercenary of his pistol. 

“How did you get a hold of the Avengers?” Hawkeye asked.

“Just called Stark Industries. A guy named Mr. Jarvis took my message. Later he called me back with a time to have you safe by and I received a package this morning before I came into work. That’s all I know. Honest.”

“Oh, son,” Captain America laid a hand on his shoulder. “You did good. I’ll make sure we put in a good word for you at SHIELD.”

The young man breathed out in relief. “I know I’m in trouble but I appreciate any help you give me. Thanks, Captain.”

The three swayed as the building shook yet again. The door burst open as the Hulk stuck his head into the room. He screamed at the three men then sniffed a few times. Satisfied that they were friendlies, he turned and started to knock the walls out down the corridor. The men inside the room wasted no time running out and past the wreckage that the Hulk was creating.

They ran into Natasha as they hurried towards the outside door. She was yelling at a few other captives to hurry as the building fell apart around them. They flung open the door and ran into the snow. Clint had managed to get a pair of shoes but Steve and the other’s were still in bare feet. They kept running until they reached a safe distance away from the building. Shield vans were there with agents ushering them into the back to get warmed up. If the other captives were handcuffed as a precaution they didn’t complain. 

They turned to see the building slowly fall into itself. The roar of the Hulk could be heard as the occasional piece of debris was flung across the wide lawn. It took a while but soon there was nothing left but a pile of wood and dust. A tired Hulk walked a few feet then fell asleep. The others had almost never seen the transformation back to Banner and it was a sight that they decided they really didn’t need to see again. Steve was just thankful the man was asleep and couldn’t feel the painful process.

Iron Man landed next to his friend and carried him over to the van. An agent that Steve had seen on a few missions had clothes and a blanket ready for the scientist. After Bruce was tucked safely away on his own bench they headed back to SHIELD to debrief. Steve later found out that twenty three prisoners had been caught. One of them being the albino woman who claimed ownership of him.

___

Epilogue:

Steve and Clint were only held up in medical for a few hours. Hill herself took care of the debrief. About twelve hours later they found themselves in Stark’s tower. Tony offered them drinks but they each went to their rooms and took showers. Long, hot showers. 

The next day Steve made his way to the new recruit section of the building. 

“Oh, hi!” Timmy said as he opened the door.

“Hi. Heard we had a new recruit and wanted to see how he was doing,” Captain America smiled down at the young man.

Timmy shuffled his feet for a second. “Yeah, I’m doing great. It looks like it's going to be a lot of hard work but I can’t thank you enough for this chance.”

“Well, you earned it,” Steve said as he ruffled the guy's hair. “Let me know if you have any questions, okay? It’s the least I can do to repay you.”

New recruit James smiled and said, “Then we are even. This is going to be great. I may even finally make my dad proud.”

“You will son,” Steve said as he walked away. “You will.”


End file.
